Experienced Nurses Should Leave Legacies to New Nurses

[jasnms]

I have been a Registered Nurse for ten years. During these years, I've worked in many areas of nursing. My last position was Director of Nursing for Private Duty. I have attempted to mentor nursing students by explaining things to them that they may not have grasped in class. I remember what it felt like being a new RN. I had a lot of book knowledge but hardly any nursing skills.

I have seen experienced nurses refuse to help new nurses. I find this behavior appalling. I feel that we owe it to new nurses to teach them everything we know, so that our legacy of providing quality care is continued. Before I was DON, I usually was a charge nurse and preceptor. I encouraged new nurses to use the knowledge they had learned but also taught them nursing skills that they were unfamiliar or uncomfortable with.

Nursing is not a profession. It is a calling. We are there to provide healthcare to everyone. This healthcare must be above standard. I once went to work for a facility that did not fully orientate the nurses. They allowed new nurses to provide care to patients after only two to three weeks. As the head nurse, I asked the unit manager to please place certain nurses with experienced nurses to allow them to learn. But this never occured. I had to write so many incident reports regarding the substandard care that our patients were receiving. I actually was ashamed of this facility. I understand about nursing shortages, but seriously, let's teach the new nurses good habits to inculcate into their nursing practice. Let's teach them that all patients are our patients. I dislike the words, that isn't my patient. Let's take new nurses and even student nurses under our wings and show them the joy that nursing can bring.

As I have said, nursing is not my profession. It is my calling in life. I am tired of reading about nurses becoming burned out. If we teach them correctly the first time, they will be able to handle things.

I was very lucky when I was in nursing school. I had two nurses that I externed with. These nurses taught me everything that they could within what the law allowed. After I became a RN, I was fortunate to shadow several nurses who taught me so many things that I didn't learn in nursing school. This is the legacy we should leave to the new nurses. Let's help them reach their full potential.

As I look around at the open RN positions for most companies, I find it sad that nearly every ad states experience required. How can any nurse obtain experience if we do not invest in that nurse? So let's invest in the new nurses, teach them, guide them, mentor them, and let their superb nursing skills be the legacy we leave them.

[cienurse]

I once worked for a State Hospital where we didn't get paid for 3 weeks because the budget for the new fiscal year was late being passed. And I showed up for work every day because what would the patients have done if we didn't?! I knew the retro pay would come eventually, in the meantime, I focused on going to work every day and making the best of it. And THAT, my friends, is a "calling," not a profession!

I have now been a nurse for 36 years and I can honestly say that I would still do the same thing today. I am a DON who interviews and hires new grads and I must say that I blame the schools for the lack of experience that new nurses have upon graduation, but also for the unrealistic expectations that I've seen the new grads have, such as Monday thru Friday 7-3, no weekends, no holidays, and very high salary expectations. Before I graduated, I had to perform each clinical procedure such as dressings, catheters, etc. 3 times with my instructor. I got to follow a post-op patient in the hospital during clinical for weeks at a time. Now, with the way healthcare is, post-op is a matter of DAYS! The patient you have as a student nurse this week will more than likely be gone before you go to clinical next week. Also, the lack of qualified faculty make it even more difficult to get the very basics of clinical experience. I also paid my dues and worked 20 years as a nurse before I got weekends and holidays off-that's just the nature of the PROFESSION, people don't get sick just during the week and we don't close hospitals on weekends and holidays.

So, whatever you consider nursing to be, either a "calling," a "profession," or both, be prepared to lead by example, never forget where you came from or what it's like to be a "newbie," and teach new nurses what they need to know-we aren't going to be around forever and someone will be left to care for our patients. We may as well teach them the right way the first time!

[DizzyLizzyNurse]

I have been a Registered Nurse for ten years. During these years, I've worked in many areas of nursing. My last position was Director of Nursing for Private Duty. I have attempted to mentor nursing students by explaining things to them that they may not have grasped in class. I remember what it felt like being a new RN. I had a lot of book knowledge but hardly any nursing skills.

I have seen experienced nurses refuse to help new nurses. I find this behavior appalling. I feel that we owe it to new nurses to teach them everything we know, so that our legacy of providing quality care is continued. Before I was DON, I usually was a charge nurse and preceptor. I encouraged new nurses to use the knowledge they had learned but also taught them nursing skills that they were unfamiliar or uncomfortable with.

Nursing is not a profession. It is a calling. We are there to provide healthcare to everyone. This healthcare must be above standard. I once went to work for a facility that did not fully orientate the nurses. They allowed new nurses to provide care to patients after only two to three weeks. As the head nurse, I asked the unit manager to please place certain nurses with experienced nurses to allow them to learn. But this never occured. I had to write so many incident reports regarding the substandard care that our patients were receiving. I actually was ashamed of this facility. I understand about nursing shortages, but seriously, let's teach the new nurses good habits to inculcate into their nursing practice. Let's teach them that all patients are our patients. I dislike the words, that isn't my patient. Let's take new nurses and even student nurses under our wings and show them the joy that nursing can bring.

As I have said, nursing is not my profession. It is my calling in life. I am tired of reading about nurses becoming burned out. If we teach them correctly the first time, they will be able to handle things.

I was very lucky when I was in nursing school. I had two nurses that I externed with. These nurses taught me everything that they could within what the law allowed. After I became a RN, I was fortunate to shadow several nurses who taught me so many things that I didn't learn in nursing school. This is the legacy we should leave to the new nurses. Let's help them reach their full potential.

As I look around at the open RN positions for most companies, I find it sad that nearly every ad states experience required. How can any nurse obtain experience if we do not invest in that nurse? So let's invest in the new nurses, teach them, guide them, mentor them, and let their superb nursing skills be the legacy we leave them.

Ok, no offense, but you said you've been a nurse for 10 years and your last job was as DON? Does that mean you haven't worked as a nurse in a while? And haven't been a bedside nurse in a while either? What made you leave bedside nursing so (relatively) quickly?

Again no offense meant, but I always find it's management or people who haven't been bedside nurses in a while who say those kinds of things. You also mentioned nursing shortages and that every ad wants an experienced nurse.

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE RIGHT NOW!!!! Every ad wants an experienced nurse because it is an employer's market right now. They ask for experience because they can get it. They don't want to spend $ training a new grad, especially if they don't have to. And also, since it's an employer's market, they can treat the nurses badly because there is always a new body to hire if that nurse doesn't like it. I am a new grad (kinda...it took me 9 months to get a job just in LTC and another 6 months to get into a hospital - this is with years of LPN/CNA experience) and management keeps trying to chip away at my orientation. Thank goodness I have had decent preceptors who stand up for me.

And WOOH to wooh!!!!

[tewdles, RN]

Nursing is a profession.

Professionals go to work for the patients even when their own reward might be in question.

Professionals have a standard of practice that they must adhere to...not so much with a calling.

Providing bedside companionship and unskilled care can be accomplished by someone with a calling to help those disadvantaged and hurting. Providing nursing care requires specific education and licensure and there are legal limitations to the practice.

Nursing is a profession.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

It is the mentality that nursing is "a calling" that keeps wages down and respect at the barest minimum in most places at most times.

If we only see ourselves as being there to serve as some kind of spiritual duty, why would anyone offer us money OR professional respect?

My qualifications demand a certain amount of money and other considerations. I would not do this for free; I feel "called" to freely give time and money to my religious congregation, not to my employer.

No, the skills, patient education and care I provide most certainly make me a professional, not a martyr.

[Hygiene Queen]

I once worked for a State Hospital where we didn't get paid for 3 weeks because the budget for the new fiscal year was late being passed. And I showed up for work every day because what would the patients have done if we didn't?! I knew the retro pay would come eventually, in the meantime, I focused on going to work every day and making the best of it. And THAT, my friends, is a "calling," not a profession!

Yes, but you knew, that in the end, you were going to get paid, so I respectfully disagree with using this scenario as an example (in response to working for free in relation to nursing being a calling).

As for who would take care of the patients... well, I'm sure TPTB would have come up with something. We are all replaceable.

[decembergrad2011, BSN, RN]

Yes, once again, let's blame the staff nurses for not having the right attitude to be able to handle an insane ratio while at the same time training a new nurse (that if we aren't forever perky, will blame it on being younger, prettier, and having more sex than we are).

Why would we ever blame the people that seem to think that staff nurses should be able to handle 24 hours worth of work in a 12 hour shift?

And I would like to see every nurse that claims this is a calling to immediately go to their supervisor and have their salary dropped down to minimum wage. See how long you're willing to work for minimum wage to fulfill your calling.

lol, I love how you attack me indirectly in another thread. Makes me feel important!

FWIW, OP, I agree with you about the act that staff nurses should take new nurses under their wings. This is how I hope to act when I precept others in the future. But I don't think there's anything wrong with working a nursing position for the money and benefits. If you feel passionately about it, I think that's fantastic, but not everyone sees it as a calling.

I agree with the sentiment about leaving a legacy, but I think it's just more complex, as others have said, than unwilling trainers.

[nursel56]

Finally, we need to stop bashing the staff nurses -- by blaming them for everything. Yes, some staff nurses need some attitude adjustments. But any "solutions" to our professions problems that only focus on changing the attitudes of staff nurses is not really a solution. It's called "blaming the victim" and it usually only makes matters worse.

Seriously.

I once worked for a State Hospital where we didn't get paid for 3 weeks because the budget for the new fiscal year was late being passed. And I showed up for work every day because what would the patients have done if we didn't?! I knew the retro pay would come eventually, in the meantime, I focused on going to work every day and making the best of it. And THAT, my friends, is a "calling," not a profession!

I worked for half pay for a month for the same reason, and was then screwed over by that company in a way that would take several pages to describe. What if you didn't know your retro pay would come eventually? How long would you work for free? Sorry if I sound bitter to you, but this attitude is poison to our profession. It used to be we could trust management to reciprocate our loyalty. That started to end around the early 80s and is at close to rock bottom today. I personally know too many nurses of our generation who've actually been kicked to the curb and left destitute because they couldn't get their minds around the idea that their employers could possibly be that devoid of scruples.

[DizzyLizzyNurse]

I once worked for a State Hospital where we didn't get paid for 3 weeks because the budget for the new fiscal year was late being passed. And I showed up for work every day because what would the patients have done if we didn't?! I knew the retro pay would come eventually, in the meantime, I focused on going to work every day and making the best of it. And THAT, my friends, is a "calling," not a profession!

And this is how they get us. I'm sorry...did the doc's get paid? How about the CEOs? Why aren't they worried about who is going to take care of the patients if/when the nurses quit because they aren't getting paid??? They count on that. I don't work for free. Guess that makes me a bad nurse. Maybe in a state hospital you can count on eventually getting paid for your work, but what about the hospitals that aren't state run?

[Hygiene Queen]

And this is how they get us. I'm sorry...did the doc's get paid? How about the CEOs?

Oh you bet your booties they got paid... they would never put up with being treated like that, would they?

Most excellent point, DizzyLizzyNurse!

[deemalt, BSN, RN]

New grad RNs need proper precepting with staff that is willing, and compensated. We are already so busy. It is not fair to ask RNs to take a full load and take on a preceptee.

This movement needs to come from a management level where teaching the next generation is compensated and appreciated. Additionally, managers will always try to shorten the length of time of said promised preceptorship in the interest of getting another body on the floor.

OP thank you for starting this discussion.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

And I would like to see every nurse that claims this is a calling to immediately go to their supervisor and have their salary dropped down to minimum wage. See how long you're willing to work for minimum wage to fulfill your calling.

Agreed. The only "calling" I know of is to nuns/priests/pastors. If I'm not mistaken, nuns/priests/pastors in large, organized religions can count on free healthcare for life, free or discounted housing, tons of parishioners feeding them, and a stipend to boot.

ETA: And, if one of those nuns or priests is the CEO of a large religious health system, they make about 5X the amount that the lowly staff nurse makes....

[Mulan]

It's not a calling or a profession, it's a blue collar job.